Columbus Clippers: The Clippers played two seven inning games against the Rochester Red Wings on Friday, losing the first 2-1 and then winning the nightcap by the same score. In the opener, the Clippers wasted an impressive performance by left-hander Sean Henn. Henn, who was roughed up by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in a spot start for the injured Randy Johnson on May 4th, threw six innings of shutout ball. Making his third start for the Clips, Henn struck out four and allowed unearned runs in the fourth and fifth that proved to be the difference. Wayne Franklin and Kris Wilson combined to throw a scoreless seventh. It was only the second appearance of the season for Wilson, who appeared in 90 games for the Kansas City Royals from 2000-2003. Game two of the doubleheader saw Alex Graman, coming off a win in his last game where he threw seven innings, allowing only one run and striking out six; pick up right where Henn left off. Graman, making his ninth start for the Clippers this season, threw five innings allowing only one run on seven hits and left with the game tied 1-1. In his last two outings he has given up only 2 earned runs in 12 innings and has struck out nine. Franklin made his second appearance of the day and worked the sixth to get the victory. Closer Scott Proctor recorded the save, striking out two in the ninth. It was save number nine for Proctor, which puts him atop the leader board in the International League.

Offensively, the doubleheader saw the Clippers combine for only three runs on nine hits. In game one, the Clippers scored their only run of the contest in the ninth, when second baseman Caonabo Cosme hit his third home run of the season. The solo shot cut the Red Wings lead in half but was not enough to get the victory. Mike Vento and Felix Escalona had the only other hits for the Clippers who struck out eight times in the game. In the second game, the Clippers were able to muster six base hits as Cosme provided the lumber again, blasting his fourth home run of the year and second of the double header. Cosme only hit four home runs all of last season, playing 50 games between Trenton and Columbus. Former Major Leaguers Bubba Crosby and Damien Rolls collected two hits a piece for the Clippers, while Mike Vento ran his hit streak to four games. 1B Mitch Jones continued to see his batting average freefall via the strikeout. In his last three games he has gone 0-9 with six strikeouts. On the season he has struck out in 19 of his last 20 games, and has struck out at least twice in 12. The win gave the Clippers a split in the series and upped their record to 24-18. They remain 1.5 games back of Toledo for first place. The Clippers open up a four-game set against the Syracuse SkyChiefs on Saturday. Columbus won the last series 3-1 but were one-hit in the series finale by Chad Gaudin.

Trenton Thunder: Ramon Ramirez got the Thunder back into the win column Friday in their series opener versus the Harrisburg Senators, throwing a gem and moving Trenton back into second place in the Northern Division. Ramirez, who had only struck out four batters in his previous two starts, struck out 11 in his eight innings of work to pick up his first win of the season. After allowing a first inning run, he settled in and would handcuff the Senators the rest of the way. Following a leadoff walk in the second, Ramirez would retire 17 in a row, with the next batter reaching in the eighth inning. Ben Julianel would then come in to work the ninth with a 5-1 lead. The Senators would make it interesting though by scoring a run and loading the bases before third baseman Shaun Norris flied out to end the game. Julianel's strikeout moved him closer to Matt DeSalvo for the team lead with 43 to DeSalvo's 51. DeSalvo was named Eastern League pitcher of the week for the week of May 9th to May 15th. The series continues on Saturday with Jeff Karstens (5-3, 3.06) getting the ball for Trenton against Jason Stevenson (0-4, 9.67) for the Senators.

Thursday night it was Shelly Duncan who provided the pop for the Thunder, Friday it was the other Duncan in the Trenton lineup. 3B Eric Duncan went 2-4, driving in a run and scoring one himself as he broke out of a 2-13 slide, and had his first multi-hit game since May 15th. SS Jay Cannizaro drove in a pair of runs as he was making his first start in a week. The game was highlighted by a four run fourth inning as the Thunder sent nine batters to the plate against Harrisburg starter Kip Bouknight. They loaded the bases with no outs and used two sacrifices and two singles to plate the four runs. Catcher Omir Santos and left fielder Kevin Thompson both collected two-out RBI singles in the inning. Thompson's single was his 53rd hit of the season, and increased his league lead. He is currently 5th in batting average as well. It was good to see a well balanced attack from a Thunder team that only had two base hits yesterday, both coming from Shelley Duncan.

Tampa Yankees: The Tampa Yankees lost a slugfest with the first place Vero Beach Dodgers on Friday night 14-9. Tyler Clippard lost his third game of the season allowing four runs on six hits in five innings of work. Clippard's six strikeouts put him in third place in the Florida State League with 54. He has been the ace of the rotation all year leading the team in wins (5), strikeouts (54), and innings pitched (50). Clippard had been 4-1 in his last 5 starts. What began as a bad dream for Clippard turned into a nightmare for reliever Michael Knox. Making his ninth appearance of the year, Knox was unable to finish off the sixth as he was lit up for eight earned runs in .2 innings. Knox gave up six hits, walked two, and gave up a huge grand slam to CF Matt Kemp. Knox, who came into the game sporting an ERA over 6.00, saw that number skyrocket to 12.34. He was lifted for Mathew Brumit who recorded the third out of the inning on the next batter. Brumit would finish the game allowing two earned in 2.1 innings pitched. When all was said and done, the three pitchers combined to allow 14 earned runs and let up four home runs to the home team.

When you score nine runs, you expect to win. With the score 4-0, the Yankees came up in the top of the six and tried to make a game out of it. SS Ramiro Pena doubled to lead off the inning. It was his first double of the season and he continues to impress as he fills in for the injured Hector Made. After a Justin Christian strikeout, Bryce Kartler singled and Pena scored on a Matt Carson sac fly. Erold Andrus then blasted a two-run homerun to cut the Dodger lead to one at 4-3. But after Knox let up eight in the bottom half, the offense shut down until the ninth. It was the second night in a row that Tampa put together a great ninth inning. After scoring four in the ninth last night, the Yankees put a six spot on the board Friday. The inning was highlighted by Jared Koutnik's grand slam, his only hit of the night. Pena then continued his fine day at the dish by hitting a home run of his own to make it back-to-back jacks. It was both Koutnik and Pena's first home runs of the season and for Pena, the first of his professional career. After a Christian strikeout, Kartler hit a homerun of his own. It was his first of the year as well and it chased Dodger reliever Chad Bailey from the game.

Charleston Riverdogs: The Charleston Riverdogs took out their brooms on Friday night as they ended their series with the Columbus Catfish with a 5-1 win. Riverdogs phenom Phil Hughes showed once again why the Yankees chose him with their first pick in 2004. Hughes (4-1, 1.44), struck out seven batters for the second straight start, and held the Catfish without a run over seven innings. It was Hughes' longest outing of the season. The win was Hughes' fourth straight winning decision. His 1.44 ERA puts him 3rd in the South Atlantic Division, while his 48 strikeouts are tops. With a 5-0 lead and the game in hand, Hughes turned the ball over to reliever Josh Smith. Smith, who has a lot of eyes on him with each appearance, has pitched well this season. In 12 games he has thrown 18 innings and boasts an ERA under 3.00. His 21 strikeouts are second best among Charleston relievers behind T.J. Beam. Smith would go two innings and allow one run on one hit striking out two. Christian Garcia (2-2, 3.49) gets the call for the Riverdogs Saturday at Hickory.

While Ben Jones shined Thursday, on Friday it was CF Tim Battle and 1B Cody Ehlers who combined for four hits and two runs. Catcher Irwil Rojas drove in two more runs on Friday and has three RBI over the last two games. SS Marcos Vechionacci went 0-4 at the plate but did manage to drive in a run thanks to a groundout in the bottom of the fifth. It was his second straight day with an RBI. The win put the Riverdogs 12 games over .500 at 27-15, and with Augusta losing their fourth straight, gives them a three game lead in the division. They have won six of their last seven games. The game ended the Riverdogs' eight game home stand, they won six, and they start an eight-game road trip on Saturday in Hickory.

_____________________________________________________

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\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nColumbus Clippers: The Clippers played two seven inning games against the Rochester Red Wings on Friday, losing the first 2-1 and then winning the nightcap by the same score. In the opener, the Clippers wasted an impressive performance by left-hander Sean Henn. Henn, who was roughed up by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in a spot start for the injured Randy Johnson on May 4th, threw six innings of shutout ball. Making his third start for the Clips, Henn struck out four and allowed unearned runs in the fourth and fifth that proved to be the difference. Wayne Franklin and Kris Wilson combined to throw a scoreless seventh. It was only the second appearance of the season for Wilson, who appeared in 90 games for the Kansas City Royals from 2000-2003. Game two of the doubleheader saw Alex Graman, coming off a win in his last game where he threw seven innings, allowing only one run and striking out six; pick up right where Henn left off. Graman, making his ninth start for the Clippers this season, threw five innings allowing only one run on seven hits and left with the game tied 1-1. In his last two outings he has given up only 2 earned runs in 12 innings and has struck out nine. Franklin made his second appearance of the day and worked the sixth to get the victory. Closer Scott Proctor recorded the save, striking out two in the ninth. It was save number nine for Proctor, which puts him atop the leader board in the International League.\r\n

\r\nOffensively, the doubleheader saw the Clippers combine for only three runs on nine hits. In game one, the Clippers scored their only run of the contest in the ninth, when second baseman Caonabo Cosme hit his third home run of the season. The solo shot cut the Red Wings lead in half but was not enough to get the victory. Mike Vento and Felix Escalona had the only other hits for the Clippers who struck out eight times in the game. In the second game, the Clippers were able to muster six base hits as Cosme provided the lumber again, blasting his fourth home run of the year and second of the double header. Cosme only hit four home runs all of last season, playing 50 games between Trenton and Columbus. Former Major Leaguers Bubba Crosby and Damien Rolls collected two hits a piece for the Clippers, while Mike Vento ran his hit streak to four games. 1B Mitch Jones continued to see his batting average freefall via the strikeout. In his last three games he has gone 0-9 with six strikeouts. On the season he has struck out in 19 of his last 20 games, and has struck out at least twice in 12. The win gave the Clippers a split in the series and upped their record to 24-18. They remain 1.5 games back of Toledo for first place. The Clippers open up a four-game set against the Syracuse SkyChiefs on Saturday. Columbus won the last series 3-1 but were one-hit in the series finale by Chad Gaudin.\r\n\r\nTrenton Thunder: Ramon Ramirez got the Thunder back into the win column Friday in their series opener versus the Harrisburg Senators, throwing a gem and moving Trenton back into second place in the Northern Division. Ramirez, who had only struck out four batters in his previous two starts, struck out 11 in his eight innings of work to pick up his first win of the season. After allowing a first inning run, he settled in and would handcuff the Senators the rest of the way. Following a leadoff walk in the second, Ramirez would retire 17 in a row, with the next batter reaching in the eighth inning. Ben Julianel would then come in to work the ninth with a 5-1 lead. The Senators would make it interesting though by scoring a run and loading the bases before third baseman Shaun Norris flied out to end the game. Julianel's strikeout moved him closer to Matt DeSalvo for the team lead with 43 to DeSalvo's 51. DeSalvo was named Eastern League pitcher of the week for the week of May 9th to May 15th. The series continues on Saturday with Jeff Karstens (5-3, 3.06) getting the ball for Trenton against Jason Stevenson (0-4, 9.67) for the Senators.\r\n\r\nThursday night it was Shelly Duncan who provided the pop for the Thunder, Friday it was the other Duncan in the Trenton lineup. 3B Eric Duncan went 2-4, driving in a run and scoring one himself as he broke out of a 2-13 slide, and had his first multi-hit game since May 15th. SS Jay Cannizaro drove in a pair of runs as he was making his first start in a week. The game was highlighted by a four run fourth inning as the Thunder sent nine batters to the plate against Harrisburg starter Kip Bouknight. They loaded the bases with no outs and used two sacrifices and two singles to plate the four runs. Catcher Omir Santos and left fielder Kevin Thompson both collected two-out RBI singles in the inning. Thompson's single was his 53rd hit of the season, and increased his league lead. He is currently 5th in batting average as well. It was good to see a well balanced attack from a Thunder team that only had two base hits yesterday, both coming from Shelley Duncan. \r\n\r\nTampa Yankees: The Tampa Yankees lost a slugfest with the first place Vero Beach Dodgers on Friday night 14-9. Tyler Clippard lost his third game of the season allowing four runs on six hits in five innings of work. Clippard's six strikeouts put him in third place in the Florida State League with 54. He has been the ace of the rotation all year leading the team in wins (5), strikeouts (54), and innings pitched (50). Clippard had been 4-1 in his last 5 starts. What began as a bad dream for Clippard turned into a nightmare for reliever Michael Knox. Making his ninth appearance of the year, Knox was unable to finish off the sixth as he was lit up for eight earned runs in .2 innings. Knox gave up six hits, walked two, and gave up a huge grand slam to CF Matt Kemp. Knox, who came into the game sporting an ERA over 6.00, saw that number skyrocket to 12.34. He was lifted for Mathew Brumit who recorded the third out of the inning on the next batter. Brumit would finish the game allowing two earned in 2.1 innings pitched. When all was said and done, the three pitchers combined to allow 14 earned runs and let up four home runs to the home team. \r\n

\r\nWhen you score nine runs, you expect to win. With the score 4-0, the Yankees came up in the top of the six and tried to make a game out of it. SS Ramiro Pena doubled to lead off the inning. It was his first double of the season and he continues to impress as he fills in for the injured Hector Made. After a Justin Christian strikeout, Bryce Kartler singled and Pena scored on a Matt Carson sac fly. Erold Andrus then blasted a two-run homerun to cut the Dodger lead to one at 4-3. But after Knox let up eight in the bottom half, the offense shut down until the ninth. It was the second night in a row that Tampa put together a great ninth inning. After scoring four in the ninth last night, the Yankees put a six spot on the board Friday. The inning was highlighted by Jared Koutnik's grand slam, his only hit of the night. Pena then continued his fine day at the dish by hitting a home run of his own to make it back-to-back jacks. It was both Koutnik and Pena's first home runs of the season and for Pena, the first of his professional career. After a Christian strikeout, Kartler hit a homerun of his own. It was his first of the year as well and it chased Dodger reliever Chad Bailey from the game.\r\n\r\nCharleston Riverdogs: The Charleston Riverdogs took out their brooms on Friday night as they ended their series with the Columbus Catfish with a 5-1 win. Riverdogs phenom Phil Hughes showed once again why the Yankees chose him with their first pick in 2004. Hughes (4-1, 1.44), struck out seven batters for the second straight start, and held the Catfish without a run over seven innings. It was Hughes' longest outing of the season. The win was Hughes' fourth straight winning decision. His 1.44 ERA puts him 3rd in the South Atlantic Division, while his 48 strikeouts are tops. With a 5-0 lead and the game in hand, Hughes turned the ball over to reliever Josh Smith. Smith, who has a lot of eyes on him with each appearance, has pitched well this season. In 12 games he has thrown 18 innings and boasts an ERA under 3.00. His 21 strikeouts are second best among Charleston relievers behind T.J. Beam. Smith would go two innings and allow one run on one hit striking out two. Christian Garcia (2-2, 3.49) gets the call for the Riverdogs Saturday at Hickory.\r\n

\r\nWhile Ben Jones shined Thursday, on Friday it was CF Tim Battle and 1B Cody Ehlers who combined for four hits and two runs. Catcher Irwil Rojas drove in two more runs on Friday and has three RBI over the last two games. SS Marcos Vechionacci went 0-4 at the plate but did manage to drive in a run thanks to a groundout in the bottom of the fifth. It was his second straight day with an RBI. The win put the Riverdogs 12 games over .500 at 27-15, and with Augusta losing their fourth straight, gives them a three game lead in the division. They have won six of their last seven games. The game ended the Riverdogs' eight game home stand, they won six, and they start an eight-game road trip on Saturday in Hickory.\r\n\r\n_____________________________________________________\r\n\r\nSubscribe to PinstripesPlus.com today! Only $79.95 brings you one full year of Total Access Pass and all premium content on PinstripesPlus.com, Scout™ Player and Roster Database (including the 'Hot News' at the top of the site), Breaking News and Information, Total Access to all Scout.com Websites, and Player Pages, detailing the progress and careers of players from high school, the minors, and the pro ranks.\r\n\r\nSample the PinstripesPlus.com Total Access Pass™ at no risk for 7 days, then pay only $7.95 or $21.95. If you want to save 2 months off the monthly subscription price, simply choose the annual PinstripesPlus.com Total Access Pass™ at $79.95.","mobileBody":"

\r\n\r\nColumbus Clippers: The Clippers played two seven inning games against the Rochester Red Wings on Friday, losing the first 2-1 and then winning the nightcap by the same score. In the opener, the Clippers wasted an impressive performance by left-hander Sean Henn. Henn, who was roughed up by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in a spot start for the injured Randy Johnson on May 4th, threw six innings of shutout ball. Making his third start for the Clips, Henn struck out four and allowed unearned runs in the fourth and fifth that proved to be the difference. Wayne Franklin and Kris Wilson combined to throw a scoreless seventh. It was only the second appearance of the season for Wilson, who appeared in 90 games for the Kansas City Royals from 2000-2003. Game two of the doubleheader saw Alex Graman, coming off a win in his last game where he threw seven innings, allowing only one run and striking out six; pick up right where Henn left off. Graman, making his ninth start for the Clippers this season, threw five innings allowing only one run on seven hits and left with the game tied 1-1. In his last two outings he has given up only 2 earned runs in 12 innings and has struck out nine. Franklin made his second appearance of the day and worked the sixth to get the victory. Closer Scott Proctor recorded the save, striking out two in the ninth. It was save number nine for Proctor, which puts him atop the leader board in the International League.\r\n

\r\nOffensively, the doubleheader saw the Clippers combine for only three runs on nine hits. In game one, the Clippers scored their only run of the contest in the ninth, when second baseman Caonabo Cosme hit his third home run of the season. The solo shot cut the Red Wings lead in half but was not enough to get the victory. Mike Vento and Felix Escalona had the only other hits for the Clippers who struck out eight times in the game. In the second game, the Clippers were able to muster six base hits as Cosme provided the lumber again, blasting his fourth home run of the year and second of the double header. Cosme only hit four home runs all of last season, playing 50 games between Trenton and Columbus. Former Major Leaguers Bubba Crosby and Damien Rolls collected two hits a piece for the Clippers, while Mike Vento ran his hit streak to four games. 1B Mitch Jones continued to see his batting average freefall via the strikeout. In his last three games he has gone 0-9 with six strikeouts. On the season he has struck out in 19 of his last 20 games, and has struck out at least twice in 12. The win gave the Clippers a split in the series and upped their record to 24-18. They remain 1.5 games back of Toledo for first place. The Clippers open up a four-game set against the Syracuse SkyChiefs on Saturday. Columbus won the last series 3-1 but were one-hit in the series finale by Chad Gaudin.\r\n\r\nTrenton Thunder: Ramon Ramirez got the Thunder back into the win column Friday in their series opener versus the Harrisburg Senators, throwing a gem and moving Trenton back into second place in the Northern Division. Ramirez, who had only struck out four batters in his previous two starts, struck out 11 in his eight innings of work to pick up his first win of the season. After allowing a first inning run, he settled in and would handcuff the Senators the rest of the way. Following a leadoff walk in the second, Ramirez would retire 17 in a row, with the next batter reaching in the eighth inning. Ben Julianel would then come in to work the ninth with a 5-1 lead. The Senators would make it interesting though by scoring a run and loading the bases before third baseman Shaun Norris flied out to end the game. Julianel's strikeout moved him closer to Matt DeSalvo for the team lead with 43 to DeSalvo's 51. DeSalvo was named Eastern League pitcher of the week for the week of May 9th to May 15th. The series continues on Saturday with Jeff Karstens (5-3, 3.06) getting the ball for Trenton against Jason Stevenson (0-4, 9.67) for the Senators.\r\n\r\nThursday night it was Shelly Duncan who provided the pop for the Thunder, Friday it was the other Duncan in the Trenton lineup. 3B Eric Duncan went 2-4, driving in a run and scoring one himself as he broke out of a 2-13 slide, and had his first multi-hit game since May 15th. SS Jay Cannizaro drove in a pair of runs as he was making his first start in a week. The game was highlighted by a four run fourth inning as the Thunder sent nine batters to the plate against Harrisburg starter Kip Bouknight. They loaded the bases with no outs and used two sacrifices and two singles to plate the four runs. Catcher Omir Santos and left fielder Kevin Thompson both collected two-out RBI singles in the inning. Thompson's single was his 53rd hit of the season, and increased his league lead. He is currently 5th in batting average as well. It was good to see a well balanced attack from a Thunder team that only had two base hits yesterday, both coming from Shelley Duncan. \r\n\r\nTampa Yankees: The Tampa Yankees lost a slugfest with the first place Vero Beach Dodgers on Friday night 14-9. Tyler Clippard lost his third game of the season allowing four runs on six hits in five innings of work. Clippard's six strikeouts put him in third place in the Florida State League with 54. He has been the ace of the rotation all year leading the team in wins (5), strikeouts (54), and innings pitched (50). Clippard had been 4-1 in his last 5 starts. What began as a bad dream for Clippard turned into a nightmare for reliever Michael Knox. Making his ninth appearance of the year, Knox was unable to finish off the sixth as he was lit up for eight earned runs in .2 innings. Knox gave up six hits, walked two, and gave up a huge grand slam to CF Matt Kemp. Knox, who came into the game sporting an ERA over 6.00, saw that number skyrocket to 12.34. He was lifted for Mathew Brumit who recorded the third out of the inning on the next batter. Brumit would finish the game allowing two earned in 2.1 innings pitched. When all was said and done, the three pitchers combined to allow 14 earned runs and let up four home runs to the home team. \r\n

\r\nWhen you score nine runs, you expect to win. With the score 4-0, the Yankees came up in the top of the six and tried to make a game out of it. SS Ramiro Pena doubled to lead off the inning. It was his first double of the season and he continues to impress as he fills in for the injured Hector Made. After a Justin Christian strikeout, Bryce Kartler singled and Pena scored on a Matt Carson sac fly. Erold Andrus then blasted a two-run homerun to cut the Dodger lead to one at 4-3. But after Knox let up eight in the bottom half, the offense shut down until the ninth. It was the second night in a row that Tampa put together a great ninth inning. After scoring four in the ninth last night, the Yankees put a six spot on the board Friday. The inning was highlighted by Jared Koutnik's grand slam, his only hit of the night. Pena then continued his fine day at the dish by hitting a home run of his own to make it back-to-back jacks. It was both Koutnik and Pena's first home runs of the season and for Pena, the first of his professional career. After a Christian strikeout, Kartler hit a homerun of his own. It was his first of the year as well and it chased Dodger reliever Chad Bailey from the game.\r\n\r\nCharleston Riverdogs: The Charleston Riverdogs took out their brooms on Friday night as they ended their series with the Columbus Catfish with a 5-1 win. Riverdogs phenom Phil Hughes showed once again why the Yankees chose him with their first pick in 2004. Hughes (4-1, 1.44), struck out seven batters for the second straight start, and held the Catfish without a run over seven innings. It was Hughes' longest outing of the season. The win was Hughes' fourth straight winning decision. His 1.44 ERA puts him 3rd in the South Atlantic Division, while his 48 strikeouts are tops. With a 5-0 lead and the game in hand, Hughes turned the ball over to reliever Josh Smith. Smith, who has a lot of eyes on him with each appearance, has pitched well this season. In 12 games he has thrown 18 innings and boasts an ERA under 3.00. His 21 strikeouts are second best among Charleston relievers behind T.J. Beam. Smith would go two innings and allow one run on one hit striking out two. Christian Garcia (2-2, 3.49) gets the call for the Riverdogs Saturday at Hickory.\r\n